The precautions of clinical waste: disposable medical sharps in the United Kingdom

This article deals with recent changes in UK guidance on clinical waste, in particular a shift to disposable, single-use instruments and sharps. I use interviews conducted with nurses from a GP practice and two clinical waste managers at alternative treatment and incineration sites as a springboard for reflection on the relationship between the legislation on clinical waste management and its implementation. Scrutinizing the UK guidance, European legislation and World Health Organization principles, I draw out interviewees’ concerns that the changed practices lead to an expansion of the hazardous waste category, with an increased volume going to incineration. This raises questions regarding the regulations’ environmental and health effects, and regarding the precautionary approach embedded in the regulations. Tracing the diverse reverberations of the term ‘waste’ in different points along the journeys made by sharps in particular, and locating these questions in relation to existing literature on waste, I emphasize that public health rationales for the new practices are not made clear in the guidance. I suggest that this relative silence on the subject conceals both the uncertainties regarding the necessity for these means of managing the risks of infectious waste, and the tensions between policies of precautionary public health and environmental sustainability

Neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease responsive to interleukin-1 beta inhibition

BACKGROUND:Neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease is characterized by fever, urticarial rash, aseptic meningitis, deforming arthropathy, hearing loss, and mental retardation. Many patients have mutations in the cold-induced autoinflammatory syndrome 1 (CIAS1) gene, encoding cryopyrin, a protein that regulates inflammation.METHODS:We selected 18 patients with neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease (12 with identifiable CIAS1 mutations) to receive anakinra, an interleukin-1-receptor antagonist (1 to 2 mg per kilogram of body weight per day subcutaneously). In 11 patients, anakinra was withdrawn at three months until a flare occurred. The primary end points included changes in scores in a daily diary of symptoms, serum levels of amyloid A and C-reactive protein, and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate from baseline to month 3 and from month 3 until a disease flare.RESULTS:All 18 patients had a rapid response to anakinra, with disappearance of rash. Diary scores improved (P<0.001) and serum amyloid A (from a median of 174 mg to 8 mg per liter), C-reactive protein (from a median of 5.29 mg to 0.34 mg per deciliter), and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate decreased at month 3 (all P<0.001), and remained low at month 6. Magnetic resonance imaging showed improvement in cochlear and leptomeningeal lesions as compared with baseline. Withdrawal of anakinra uniformly resulted in relapse within days; retreatment led to rapid improvement. There were no drug-related serious adverse events.CONCLUSIONS:Daily injections of anakinra markedly improved clinical and laboratory manifestations in patients with neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease, with or without CIAS1 mutations

ExCyto PCR Amplification

ExCyto PCR cells provide a novel and cost effective means to amplify DNA transformed into competent bacterial cells. ExCyto PCR uses host E. coli with a chromosomally integrated gene encoding a thermostable DNA polymerase to accomplish robust, hot-start PCR amplification of cloned sequences without addition of exogenous enzyme.Because the thermostable DNA polymerase is stably integrated into the bacterial chromosome, ExCyto cells can be transformed with a single plasmid or complex library, and then the expressed thermostable DNA polymerase can be used for PCR amplification. We demonstrate that ExCyto cells can be used to amplify DNA from different templates, plasmids with different copy numbers, and master mixes left on ice for up to two hours. Further, PCR amplification with ExCyto cells is comparable to amplification using commercial DNA polymerases. The ability to transform a bacterial strain and use the endogenously expressed protein for PCR has not previously been demonstrated.ExCyto PCR reduces pipetting and greatly increases throughput for screening EST, genomic, BAC, cDNA, or SNP libraries. This technique is also more economical than traditional PCR and thus broadly useful to scientists who utilize analysis of cloned DNAs in their research

Applying refinement to the use of mice and rats in rheumatoid arthritis research

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a painful, chronic disorder and there is currently an unmet need for effective therapies that will benefit a wide range of patients. The research and development process for therapies and treatments currently involves in vivo studies, which have the potential to cause discomfort, pain or distress. This Working Group report focuses on identifying causes of suffering within commonly used mouse and rat ‘models’ of RA, describing practical refinements to help reduce suffering and improve welfare without compromising the scientific objectives. The report also discusses other, relevant topics including identifying and minimising sources of variation within in vivo RA studies, the potential to provide pain relief including analgesia, welfare assessment, humane endpoints, reporting standards and the potential to replace animals in RA research

Association of the transthyretin variant V122I with polyneuropathy among individuals of African ancestry

Hereditary transthyretin-mediated (hATTR) amyloidosis is an underdiagnosed, progressively debilitating disease caused by mutations in the transthyretin (TTR) gene. V122I, a common pathogenic TTR mutation, is found in 3-4% of individuals of African ancestry in the United States and has been associated with cardiomyopathy and heart failure. To better understand the phenotypic consequences of carrying V122I, we conducted a phenome-wide association study scanning 427 ICD diagnosis codes in UK Biobank participants of African ancestry (n = 6062). Significant associations were tested for replication in the Penn Medicine Biobank (n = 5737) and the Million Veteran Program (n = 82,382). V122I was significantly associated with polyneuropathy in the UK Biobank (odds ratio [OR] = 6.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.6-15.6, p = 4.2 × 10-5), which was replicated in the Penn Medicine Biobank (OR = 1.6, 95% CI 1.2-2.4, p = 6.0 × 10-3) and Million Veteran Program (OR = 1.5, 95% CI 1.2-1.8, p = 1.8 × 10-4). Polyneuropathy prevalence among V122I carriers was 2.1%, 9.0%, and 4.8% in the UK Biobank, Penn Medicine Biobank, and Million Veteran Program, respectively. The cumulative incidence of common hATTR amyloidosis manifestations (carpal tunnel syndrome, polyneuropathy, cardiomyopathy, heart failure) was significantly enriched in V122I carriers compared with non-carriers (HR = 2.8, 95% CI 1.7-4.5, p = 2.6 × 10-5) in the UK Biobank, with 37.4% of V122I carriers having at least one of these manifestations by age 75. Our findings show that V122I carriers are at increased risk of polyneuropathy. These results also emphasize the underdiagnosis of disease in V122I carriers with a significant proportion of subjects showing phenotypic changes consistent with hATTR amyloidosis. Greater understanding of the manifestations associated with V122I is critical for earlier diagnosis and treatment

Multidisciplinary approach to diagnosis and management of osteosarcoma – a review of the St Vincent's Hospital experience

BACKGROUND: Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignant bone tumour in children and young adults. Despite advances in the diagnosis and management of osteosarcoma, there have been few recent studies describing the experiences of tertiary referral centres. This paper aims to describe and discuss the clinical features, pre-operative work-up, management and outcomes of these patients at St Vincent's Hospital (Melbourne, Australia). METHODS: Retrospective study of fifty-nine consecutive patients managed for osteosarcoma at St Vincent's Hospital between 1995 and 2005. RESULTS: Median age at diagnosis was 21 (range, 11–84) years. Gender distribution was similar, with thirty-one male and twenty-eight female patients. Twenty-five patients had osteosarcoma in the femur, eleven each were located in the humerus and tibia, six were identified in the pelvis, and one each in the clavicle, maxilla, fibula, sacrum, ulna and radius. Pre-operative tissue diagnosis of osteosarcoma was obtained through computed tomography-guided percutaneous biopsy in over ninety percent of patients. Following initial therapy, over fifty percent of patients remained relapse-free during the follow-up period, with twelve percent and twenty-seven percent of patients documented as having local and distant disease recurrence, respectively. Of patients with recurrent disease, sixty-two percent remained disease-free following subsequent surgical intervention (most commonly, pulmonary metastatectomy). CONCLUSION: Patient outcomes can be optimised through a multidisciplinary approach in a tertiary referral centre. At St Vincent's Hospital, survival and relapse rates of patients managed for osteosarcoma compare favourably with the published literature

An exploratory randomised controlled trial of a premises-level intervention to reduce alcohol-related harm including violence in the United Kingdom

&lt;b&gt;Background&lt;/b&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; To assess the feasibility of a randomised controlled trial of a licensed premises intervention to reduce severe intoxication and disorder; to establish effect sizes and identify appropriate approaches to the development and maintenance of a rigorous research design and intervention implementation.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Methods&lt;/b&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; An exploratory two-armed parallel randomised controlled trial with a nested process evaluation. An audit of risk factors and a tailored action plan for high risk premises, with three month follow up audit and feedback. Thirty-two premises that had experienced at least one assault in the year prior to the intervention were recruited, match paired and randomly allocated to control or intervention group. Police violence data and data from a street survey of study premises’ customers, including measures of breath alcohol concentration and surveyor rated customer intoxication, were used to assess effect sizes for a future definitive trial. A nested process evaluation explored implementation barriers and the fidelity of the intervention with key stakeholders and senior staff in intervention premises using semi-structured interviews.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Results&lt;/b&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; The process evaluation indicated implementation barriers and low fidelity, with a reluctance to implement the intervention and to submit to a formal risk audit. Power calculations suggest the intervention effect on violence and subjective intoxication would be raised to significance with a study size of 517 premises.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Conclusions&lt;/b&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; It is methodologically feasible to conduct randomised controlled trials where licensed premises are the unit of allocation. However, lack of enthusiasm in senior premises staff indicates the need for intervention enforcement, rather than voluntary agreements, and on-going strategies to promote sustainability

Walk well:a randomised controlled trial of a walking intervention for adults with intellectual disabilities: study protocol

Background - Walking interventions have been shown to have a positive impact on physical activity (PA) levels, health and wellbeing for adult and older adult populations. There has been very little work carried out to explore the effectiveness of walking interventions for adults with intellectual disabilities. This paper will provide details of the Walk Well intervention, designed for adults with intellectual disabilities, and a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to test its effectiveness. Methods/design - This study will adopt a RCT design, with participants allocated to the walking intervention group or a waiting list control group. The intervention consists of three PA consultations (baseline, six weeks and 12 weeks) and an individualised 12 week walking programme. A range of measures will be completed by participants at baseline, post intervention (three months from baseline) and at follow up (three months post intervention and six months from baseline). All outcome measures will be collected by a researcher who will be blinded to the study groups. The primary outcome will be steps walked per day, measured using accelerometers. Secondary outcome measures will include time spent in PA per day (across various intensity levels), time spent in sedentary behaviour per day, quality of life, self-efficacy and anthropometric measures to monitor weight change. Discussion - Since there are currently no published RCTs of walking interventions for adults with intellectual disabilities, this RCT will examine if a walking intervention can successfully increase PA, health and wellbeing of adults with intellectual disabilities

Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) as an aid to rehabilitation in acute respiratory disease

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) can increase exercise tolerance, reduce exercise induced desaturation and improve the outcome of pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with chronic respiratory disease. It is not known whether it can be applied to increase exercise capacity in patients admitted with non-hypercapnic acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD). We investigated the acceptability and feasibility of using NIV for this purpose.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>On a single occasion, patients admitted with an acute exacerbation of chronic respiratory disease who were unable to cycle for five minutes at 20 watts attempted to cycle using NIV and their endurance time (T_lim) was recorded. To determine feasibility of this approach in clinical practice patients admitted with AECOPD were screened for participation in a trial of regular NIV assisted rehabilitation during their hospital admission.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In 12 patients tested on a single occasion NIV increased T_limfrom 184(65) seconds to 331(229) seconds (p = 0.04) and patients desaturated less (median difference = 3.5%, p = 0.029). In the second study, 60 patients were admitted to hospital during a three month period of whom only 18(30)% were eligible to participate and of these patients, only four (7%) consented to participate.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>NIV improves exercise tolerance in patients with acute exacerbations of chronic respiratory disease but the applicability of this approach in routine clinical practice may be limited.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p><url>http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN35692743</url></p

Stochastic signalling rewires the interaction map of a multiple feedback network during yeast evolution

During evolution, genetic networks are rewired through strengthening or weakening their interactions to develop new regulatory schemes. In the galactose network, the GAL1/GAL3 paralogues and the GAL2 gene enhance their own expression mediated by the Gal4p transcriptional activator. The wiring strength in these feedback loops is set by the number of Gal4p binding sites. Here we show using synthetic circuits that multiplying the binding sites increases the expression of a gene under the direct control of an activator, but this enhancement is not fed back in the circuit. The feedback loops are rather activated by genes that have frequent stochastic bursts and fast RNA decay rates. In this way, rapid adaptation to galactose can be triggered even by weakly expressed genes. Our results indicate that nonlinear stochastic transcriptional responses enable feedback loops to function autonomously, or contrary to what is dictated by the strength of interactions enclosing the circuit